Chandler Hoping For Tuesday Return To Suddenly Hot Knicks
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) — New York Knicks center Tyson Chandler missed his fourth straight game Monday because of bronchitis and hopes to return Tuesday at Charlotte.
Chandler worked out before the Knicks beat the Phoenix Suns 98-96 in overtime, saying he had barely left his house since getting sick during the team's road trip to Texas just after the new year.
He expects to play limited minutes against the Bobcats if he is able to play, seeking some game action before facing Indiana's Roy Hibbert on Thursday.
"I didn't lose a lot of weight," Chandler said. "Hopefully I'll be fine.''
The Knicks won their fifth straight game Monday despite a 14-point lead turning into a five-point deficit late in regulation.
"I think now as a team, I think mentally we're a different type of team," said Carmelo Anthony, who had 29 points and 16 rebounds. "I think now we're starting to believe that when we do get down, we still have a chance to win the basketball game."
The Knicks (15-22) have gone 6-1 in January. It was a solid night overall: they climbed into a tie with Brooklyn for eighth place in the Eastern Conference, beat a Western Conference team at home for the first time in seven chances and improved to 7-12 overall at Madison Square Garden.
Despite their miserable 9-21 start to the season, they can continue climbing the rest of January, as they open an eight-game homestand on Friday.
"The game is not over until the clock hits zero," Knicks forward Kenyon Martin said. "We lost some close games early on, so (we're) just learning from the mistakes that we made early, just trying to build on what we've been doing."
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